


It's fun to stay at the St. Bastion

by fluse



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-25 15:25:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18577243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluse/pseuds/fluse
Summary: Roxas is fresh out of high school, it's hard to find a job and it's far too late to search for anything decent. He decides to take his buddy up on a job offer in his moment of despair, only to end up in a rather... interesting mental facility. Nothing is as it seems, everyone is pushing the trainee to do the weird things and it seems like the patients have a rather freaky roleplay going on...





	1. Calm before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> First project on here! This is the product of stress and someone picking up a key and saying 'keyblade' in Xehanort's voice.  
> I don't know how starting a fanfiction right before exams is supposed to increase productivity... Well, basically, it's not! Help me.  
> Only a prologue sort of thing to start with, but I have something written up already in case I don't get to writing in the near future.  
> English is not my first language, so feel free to correct me on words or sentences! : )
> 
> Enjoy!

It wasn't like he wasn't qualified enough for a 'real' job. He knew that his grades were pretty good, he hadn't stepped out of the line in school (apart from maybe a fight or two – they were justified). Nowadays it was just hard to fit in and get a workplace that wasn't modest salary-wise or a real shitplace. Every day since his final year in high school started, he was confronted with the nagging thought at the back of his mind, telling him to hurry up to get a job... He had originally thought it would be easy to find a workplace, as often as he saw job offers not only online, but also on billboards or posters. Well, little to be said, he was dead wrong. It was like he received a huge punch in the face on his first job rejection, not even after a job interview or anything.  
It was then that he began to realize how truly screwed he was.  
At this point, sitting at his desk late at night, he was so stressed he just sent out an application to a couple of retirement homes that paid a bit over the minimum wage. And on his buddy Lea's offer, he even took his workplace into consideration, seeing how they were apparently looking for nurses and caregivers at the moment… Roxas didn't know what to think as he instead reached for his cup of cold coffee despite it already being past midnight. At this point, the only thing that could save him was death, anyway, right?  
You see, it just so happened that Lea worked in an insane asylum, or as the redhead liked to correct him, /a mental home/, which was why the tired blonde really needed to think it over and pause before reading further. Was he prepared to deal with people? Moreover… mentally ill people...? He couldn't quite imagine if they were better or worse than regular assholes. Had to depend on the severity of the illness, he guessed? Well, wasn't he already the expert… He almost laughed in his head but was way too tired to even force out a chuckle. Rubbing his eyes, he moved away from his chair, checking the time on his phone once more. It was half past twelve AM. Why was he even awake? Aged 18 and he already felt like an old man. He thought it was better to deal with everything in the morning, when he could actually read without feeling like someone was forcing a screwdriver through his eyes.  
He could only tiredly slump over to the bathroom to brush his teeth.  
And after that, dreading the responsibilities he just hauled on his future self, he hit the hay and it wasn’t long until he was in a good state of temporary death.

\- - - - -

The first thing he did in the morning was take a look at the job offers at hand. In the end, the idea of working with the friend he only saw so often was a bit tempting... But it wasn't like he wanted to start a shitty job just for the sake of letting Lea make fun of him at work. A sigh followed the constant thinking, he set his cup down and decided to just go for it. In the end, it didn't have to mean they'd take him, right? It was just a back-up plan...

And in came the call about a few hours later. He was so confused that he at first thought it had to be some strange spam call. Yet after deciding to accept the call, the first thing he heard was the name of the mental home spoken in a female voice. After that, a woman introduced herself as Ms. Lightbloom, telling him that she read over his application. Both very surprised about the fast reply and already expecting some sort of a rejection, Roxas was already nervously picking at one of his notebooks, confirming whatever she asked about his application with a 'yes' or a subconscious nod that nobody could really see. When he finally realized she was inviting him to a job interview, he moved to his desk to get a piece of paper and a pen. It wasn't longer than a minute until the call was done and he was sitting there with a date written on a paper and his phone still in hand. Did he just get an interview...?  
That was good, right? Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since I already had this in my saves I thought I'd just post it already. Have fun!
> 
> Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me and I don't own any of the characters.

He had only had a couple talks like this. He always felt better about it when he called it something less significant – that way, he wouldn't be as nervous.  
„So, your major in high school was social studies and... health? “ Ms. Lightbloom asked as she sat there, one leg over the other as she held his application documents open on her lap. She was one of those career women who made your knees turn to jelly with one look. Basically, she was kind of hot and had 'bitch' written all over her mannerisms and the way she looked at someone. When she was in the room, it was as if she owned it. She had /bought/ the whole building and she could buy you if she wanted, or that was at least what her aura told you. That was the kind of person Roxas usually didn't hang around or wanted to talk to.  
Well, sucked to be him.

„Yes, I've got to say health is one of the most interesting subjects at school.“ He tried to smile naturally, yet maybe, just maybe, he found himself very intimidated by the blue-haired woman and his smile could've come off as a bit shaky. She either didn't catch up on it or knew what was going on in every inch of his body at this very moment. He thought it was for sure the latter. Well, considering he said he found health interesting, it was far more fascinating how he ate instant noodles at 2 in the morning for days. He decided that mentioning that would be very unnecessary.

„Alright. And your grades show that you're overall a good student... do you have any experience in this field of work? Anything that's not in your CV? “ She asked, turning the page to his curriculum, while he just tried to take a moment to breathe as long as her piercing eyes weren't on him.

„I've, uh, worked with elderly people. I take care of my grandpa a lot and he has vascular dementia. But no experience with the… real deal, yet.“ He wanted to hit himself for his stuttering. He appeared somewhat confident, right? That was good, right? Well, he hated kissing ass, so he wished that the talk would end soon. Ms. Lightbloom was certainly the kind of person one had to suck up to, he feared…

„Oh, and you know Lea! So he can help you around when you're lost,“ she smiled suddenly, making Roxas realize he was /very/ welcome at the mental home. Also, it was like the first time he saw her smile that day, which was a bit sad, he guessed, considering she was happy about not having to baby him all the time.  
At the very least, he guessed Aqua didn't like taking care of the trainees despite being the... trainee supervisor? His eyes lingered on the name plate on the woman's desk. 'Aqua Lightbloom, trainee supervisor and secretary'.

„Yeah, I suppose I'm also here because I think I can work well with him.“ He smiled honestly for once with a small shrug, this time feeling her inspect him with curious blue eyes. She had a smile on her face and nodded while writing something down on the sheet of paper she had on her desk. He sort of wondered what exactly she was writing but decided it would be better if he didn’t know.

She went on, asking him about his strengths and weaknesses, about what he thought of working in a team and all the other things. In the end, he figured everything went alright, seeing how she decided to give him a tour of the facility.

“Hope you don’t mind I’m showing you around. Lea has a day off today.” Ms. Lightbloom tucked a clipboard under her arm as they walked. It seemed like she was making sure he was comfortable, but it was so obvious that she was putting effort into it that it had the opposite effect on him. In general, Ms. Lightbloom seemed like she was hiding something from him. Or maybe he was just not a trusting person?

“I don’t mind. I’m thinking maybe your tour is easier to understand,” a grin appeared on his face as he let his sapphire eyes wander. Although he guessed he felt somewhat bad about badmouthing Lea to his supervisor. But nothing came from her aside from a nod and a smile that said she knew what he meant. He was glad she didn’t get him wrong.

There were five floors in total in the facility, including the basement, and two buildings that were facing one another. They were connected by two corridors that went from one building to the other on both sides, the area in between the two buildings being the garden, with a fountain and everything.   
There was the main entrance into the management floor in the first building, where mainly the reception, a small lounge area and toilets for the visitors or employees were located. The floor underneath, in the basement, was for the kitchen and washing room, as well as a room for the cleaning staff. The basement also included a lab for a couple of medical officers and doctors there. It was a connected one between the two buildings, since it took just that much preparatory space for a mental facility.   
The third floor of the first building was for the administration staff mainly – basically, the manager of the whole facility Xemnas Noir’s office, as well as Ms. Lightbloom’s office. On this floor, it was notably quiet. Maybe because of the lack of personnel and patients here? It seemed very secluded from the events of the day.   
He just knew he shouldn’t get happy about the silence on this floor since the ones he would work on if he were to get accepted, were… pretty head-on with the patients.   
The floor that Mr. Noir’s and Ms. Lightbloom’s offices were on didn’t connect to the other building with a corridor and Roxas figured it was because of the loud patients just in the next building.

The upper floor was a bit more integrated, though, despite containing a couple offices just like the one they had previously visited. Upon Ms. Lightbloom’s, or as she soon corrected him, Aqua‘s, explanation, he now knew that on this floor were the offices of the couple of psychologists and psychiatrists that worked there, as well as some empty rooms that were apparently used by them if they wanted more space while working. It seemed like they were pretty directly involved with the patients, as Roxas realized while looking over to the other side of the corridor that lead to the second building, where the patients were. It was pretty quiet at the moment, so he had no reason to direct his attention away from Aqua’s tour.  
The next and the last floor was used for the nurses, they were open rooms with desks and chairs and a lot of notes and documents hanging on the billboards. These rooms seemed pretty used and they even saw a nurse in one of them, a pink-haired woman who had her rather spiky hair tied back in a lousy ponytail. She was typing something on the computer and wasn’t looking their way, but Roxas watched curiously as Aqua peeked in, leaning against the doorframe with a grin.

“Hey, Lauriam,” she began, making the woman turn to her, who was seemingly a bit startled. Roxas scanned the pretty face for a bit wordlessly. Bright blue eyes, perfect skin and pinkish lips. Well, the woman was certainly pretty… Not like he could talk, since he wasn’t really all that into women if he had to be honest…

“Hey. I’m a bit busy.” She, or Roxas now realized, /he/ waved Aqua off, looking over some papers. Okay, so, the woman turned out to be a man and he was suddenly very glad he had not said anything. Only now did he take a look at the broad shoulders and the obviously male stature. He felt a bit stupid in his sense of judgement.

“This is Roxas. A possible future nurse here.” Aqua introduced without listening to Lauriam’s complaint, but it seemed to Roxas like it would be more of an issue for Lauriam not to pay attention to his superior. Only now did the man seem to notice him, turning around in his chair, putting one leg over the other with a somewhat tired smile. “Hi. I’m Lauriam, as you’ve already heard. Sure you’re sane enough for the job?” His grin told Roxas that he had just made a joke and the blonde refrained himself from pointing out just how bad the joke had been.  
“Er… I think so. Maybe.” He dared to joke back although he was usually not the best at jokes either. But it seemed like Lauriam didn’t mind or was too tired to understand humor anyway. Poor guy was either very stressed or hadn’t seen sleep in a long time. It was only around 8AM. Made Roxas wonder just what tired him out.

They left Lauriam alone after that, Aqua continuing to show him around. He got to see the garden that they had to cross to get to the other building (Aqua insisted on not using the corridors – according to her, it was too beautiful a day to stay inside) and Roxas had to say this was about one of the biggest gardens he had ever seen in such a facility. He thought it would definitely become one of his favorite places… Well, if they did end up hiring him.

“We’ll be in the patients’ dorms then… Our patients’ illnesses aren’t really severe to the point we have to restrain them, but… I guess you could say it takes time to get used to. All in all, it’s mostly fun to see or listen to the nurses talk with some of the patients… Everything has its perks.” Oooh, Roxas just felt how every nurse had to hate Aqua every time she passed them in the hallway. She seemed like the type of person who had it good, knew it /and/ was petty about it.

The first thing he noticed when they arrived on the first floor of the dormitory was how quiet it was there. There seemed to only be a couple of patients standing around. One was a seemingly older woman who was sitting around in an armchair, continuously shifting in her sitting position. She seemed confused about her surroundings and kept looking around like she didn’t know where she was. She was also muttering something to herself, the same thing over and over, but Roxas couldn’t quite figure out what.  
In response to her behavior, the other patient seemed to get even more nervous than he already was, a tall brunette who seemed very fidgety and was rubbing his hands together while walking from one end of the room to the other slowly… He seemed to be the one in a better state of mind, because he even saw them coming and didn’t seem to really… flip out. It was so difficult to see why he was here, the blonde had difficulties telling him apart from a regular person.

“Hey, Terra!” Aqua seemed to be very friendly with the man, making him smile widely in return as he moved closer. His hands still rubbing into one another…

“Hey, Aqua. How late is it?” ‘Terra’ asked simply, rubbing his upper arm as he rested his eyes on Aqua, then tore the eye contact to glance over to the older lady. Roxas was so confused he just followed Terra’s eyes. Terra’s act reminded him of how a drug deal looked in movies. A nervous client who kept looking around until they got their stuff. In this case, the stuff being the time.

“Hm… It’s exactly 8:20. You’re up early. Lea told me you like to sleep in usually?” She seemed to want to distract him from something. Yet Roxas immediately found out that it hadn’t worked, as Terra smiled widely and shook his head. A man so dense that he couldn’t be distracted.

“I’m going home today, you see. Lea should arrive soon. He will help me pack…” …Roxas had a bad feeling in his gut, looking from Terra to the blue-haired girl for her reaction. He had a feeling the man was not going home today… As far as Aqua’s expression told him, it had to happen fairly frequently because she just put a hand on his shoulder, patting it as she began leading him to what Roxas assumed was his room.

Well, the fact that Lea had a day off today was sign enough that the redhead was not taking him anywhere. Roxas felt his mood drop as he watched Aqua walking with the confused, determined brunette.  
Well, he would be lying if he said the sight didn’t make him sad. He’d make sure to ask about him once Aqua returned, but instead, he was left alone for a moment with the grandma.  
Who just so happened to now be staring at him, making the teen become a bit nervous. He didn’t yet know how to work with that kind of people… Could he just talk to them? He knew it was horrible to think they weren’t capable of communicating… He had had enough awkward talks with his age demented grandpa. Before Roxas could even try to break the silence or her staring, she instead spoke up while gripping the edge of her knitted blanket so tight that her frail knuckles turned white.

“Sora…” She muttered, taking him aback as he stood there.

“W-what?” He asked in return, not even a moment after, too confused to really think about how he was talking to a patient.

He didn’t know if he was supposed to be relieved or terrified when the older woman’s face stretched in a wide smile, only for her to repeat the name (?) with more glee.  
Was this Sora a person? Did he look similar to them? Roxas could only guess and give the woman a smile, a very confused one, but nevertheless a smile.  
He ended up waiting for Aqua in eternal awkward silence, being stared at by the smiling granny. Time went by so slow he was beginning to look around some more on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Marluxia was originally thought to be a woman by the creators, so I thought I'd just put Roxas taking Lauriam for a woman in there. He does look a bit feminine, I guess.


End file.
